Warning: This page contains spoilers for the June 23, 2023, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Female Authors) for Friday, June 23, 2023 (Season 39, Game 205):
At age 9 in 1883 she moved west, where she met Annie Pavelka, a young pioneer on whom she would later model a title character
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Ron Nurwisah, an editor originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Donna Matturri, a librarian from Columbus, Ohio |
Ben Goldstein, a content marketing specialist from Dexter, Michigan (5-day total: $49,298) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Ben Goldstein’s very cagey Final Jeopardy! bet last night worked out incredibly well for him, as he is now a 5-day champion. He’s the first 5-time winner to average less than $10,000 a win since the dollar values were doubled and holds the record for the lowest adjusted 5-day total in the history of the show’s syndicated version. As I said yesterday, though—he has done very well to play each day’s boards better than his opposition—and that’s really all you can ask of a Jeopardy! contestant. Today, Ron Nurwisah & Donna Matturri hope that they can end Ben’s streak at five victories.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: Who is Willa Cather?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
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I know I’ve already said it once this week, but it bears repeating: the show’s contestant coordinators have always said that the best preparation for the show is to watch the show. The works of Willa Cather show up multiple times per season; in this case, Annie Sadilek Pavelka is the inspiration for Cather’s famous 1918 novel My Ántonia. The story is told from the perspective of an orphan from Virginia, Jim Burden, who moves to Nebraska as a pioneer near the end of the 19th century, and meets the Bohemian immigrant Ántonia Shimerda and her family. Due to the show’s longtime inclusion of Willa Cather in its literature canon, this Final is definitely going to reward the player who has paid attention to the show for a lengthy amount of time.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, June 23, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Remember Baseball?; Books & Authors; Animal Change A Letter; Who Reigned In England When…; I Learned It On Schoolhouse Rock; Kids Of The ’70s, Rejoice!)
Ron jumped out to an early lead; unfortunately, a missed Daily Double saw his score drop down; he finished the round in third place. Ben led after 30 clues, with Donna in second.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Ron 5 correct 0 incorrect
Ben 5 correct 0 incorrect
Donna 3 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Ron curls…in Brooklyn.
Donna coordinates her library’s trivia game.
Ben is probably going to put his winnings towards his next house.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Ben 10 correct 1 incorrect
Donna 5 correct 0 incorrect
Ron 9 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Ben $5,000
Donna $2,600
Ron $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: African-American Firsts; Qui”zz”ical; On Broadway; A Chemistry Test; Musical Act Etymology; Same First & Last Letter Geography)
Ben and Ron got to the Daily Doubles, and they were both correct! This meant that all three players were above $10,000 going into Final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Ben 20 correct 1 incorrect
Ron 16 correct 2 incorrect
Donna 14 correct 0 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 34 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Ben $16,200
Ron $13,800
Donna $11,400
Donna the librarian was the only player correct today in Final; that means she becomes the new Jeopardy! champion! She’ll return to defend her title on Monday.
Tonight’s results:
Donna $11,400 + $6,000 = $17,400 (Who is Willa Cather?) (1-day total: $17,400)
Ron $13,800 – $13,800 = $0 (Who L M Montgomery?)
Ben $16,200 – $11,500 = $4,700 (Who is Alcott?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) WHO REIGNED IN ENGLAND WHEN… $1000 (clue #17)
Ron 4200 -2800 (Ben 2800 Donna 1200)
2) MUSICAL ACT ETYMOLOGY $1600 (clue #10)
Ben 8600 +1600 (Donna 4200 Ron 3600)
3) SAME FIRST & LAST LETTER GEOGRAPHY $1600 (clue #14, $19200 left on board)
Ron 4800 +3000 (Ben 12200 Donna 5000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 14
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Ben 3 4 2 2 3 5 2 3
Donna 1 4 1
Ron 5 3 4 5 1 5*
DJ! Round:
Ben 5 2 2 3 4* 5† 2†
Donna 1 1 3
Ron 3 3 4 4*
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Donna 1.83
Ben 3.13
Ron 3.70
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 34 (0.17 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Donna $11,400 Coryat, 14 correct, 0 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Ben $16,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 1 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Ron $15,200 Coryat, 16 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Combined Coryat Score: $42,800
Lach Trash: $9,200 (on 9 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $2,000
Player Statistics:
Ben Goldstein, career statistics:
118 correct, 20 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 32 rebound opportunities)
36.36% in first on buzzer (124/341)
2/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$3,600)
1/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,000
Donna Matturri, career statistics:
15 correct, 0 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,400
Ron Nurwisah, career statistics:
16 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $200)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,200
Donna Matturri, to win:
2 games: 38.754%
3: 15.019%
4: 5.820%
5: 2.256%
6: 0.874%
Avg. streak: 1.633 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Today’s box score: June 23, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Ben $16,200 Ron $13,800 Donna $11,400)
Ben: Standard cover bet over Ron is $11,401. Because the scores are evenly spaced, you should not go over this number. (Actual bet: $11,500)
Donna: Limit your bet to $6,599 to have the best chance of winning on a Triple Stumper. (Actual bet: $6,000)
Ron: If you don’t think Ben will cover again, go all in. Otherwise, bet exactly $9,001, because of the evenly spaced scores. (Actual bet: $13,800)
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Did my eyes deceive me, or did I see words from the Preamble to the Constitution go unrecognized by all three contestants today?
I believe that this criticism is unfair. Remember that the clue came up in a category about Schoolhouse Rock, and the contestants were very likely hesitant about potentially getting the specific title of a song incorrect.
Karen O, Brian Chase and Nick Zinner form the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
There is no “The” in the name.
This is also true of Pretenders (Chrissie Hynde et al) but the band has become very lax about this; e.g., its Facebook© doesn’t have “The” while its Twitter™ does. The band’s album covers, etc. have never included “The”.
Side note: I’ve found the judging less “nitpicky” this week regarding pronunciations and such. And I heartily approve.
And until there’s a different band called “The Yeah Yeah Yeahs” to confuse them with, the rules of Jeopardy! are such that one may add, remove, or change a standard leading English article with a different one, without it invalidating the response.
Drat! I got Final J! wrong, again. I thought that the response was “Laura Ingalls Wilder.” I know about Willa Cather’s book, “My Antonia,” but have not read it. It’s been a rough week for my Final! scores.